Princesses and Stories
by EnglandBabe1997
Summary: A series of little one-shots based on the book and film A Little Princess.
1. Dreaming

**I re-watched the film for this lately, as well as reading the book again today, so I decided to write this x I think it will be a few short one-shots from both the book and the film, but I'll try to specify which one it's from xx :)**

She's still dreaming.

She has to be - it's the only explanation for this.

Because things like this haven't happened to her since her Papa died, beautiful surprises that make her want to weep with joy. She's almost forgotten what it felt like.

But when she reaches out it feels real under her fingers, so real she starts to believe that maybe it is. She takes one hand and pinches the opposite arm, _hard_, and she feels it.

She is awake.

This is not a dream that she will wake up from, in the cold emptiness of the attic that is her room.

Somehow that makes it feel even more like a dream.


	2. Sometimes

Some nights Becky creeps into her room, or Sara into Becky's, when the winter nights grow colder than they can stand alone, with their empty stomachs rumbling in the lonely darkness. Sometimes they huddle under the sheets, holding each other tight.

Sometimes they tell each other stories, Sara the most. She invents all kinds of tales, tells stories of India and elephants and long forgotten Princes. She imagines everything and Becky cannot help but find herself in awe.

Sometimes they don't talk, merely sharing each other's warmth and wondering what Miss Minchin would say if she found them up here like this.

Sometimes they fall asleep, but they always wake up clinging to each other's hands.


	3. Never

No, her father had never told her that she was a princess when she'd been a little girl. Her father had barely endeavoured to notice that he even had children, never mind treat them well.

As soon as they'd been old enough he'd packed them off to school, as far away as possible, and knowing that they would almost never be back. Years had passed in that fashion, until their mother's untimely death.

It was the first time they'd been home for something other than Christmas in years, her funeral.

Her father had never called her a princess, never treated her like his child, and she learnt from his example.


	4. Petty Jealousy

Lavinia has never really liked Sara. But it was more jealousy than hatred because before Sara Crewe Lavinia had been the most pretty, most clever and most interesting girl in the school.

Only now it was, see how lovely she can speak French and, listen to get stories of India and, does she have such lovely hair?

But it was impossible to truly hate Sara. She never did anything you could hate her for.

Even Lavinia couldn't help getting drawn in by her talk of mermaids and princesses and when she left Lavinia hugged Emily along with the rest of them.


	5. Stupid

Becky isn't stupid. She knows the look on people's faces when she is introduced as Captain Crewe's second daughter, rather than his daughters companion or maidservant.

They look disgusted and some are confused, wondering at how she had risen to such a station. Some of them wonder what had happened for something as unique and strange as this to occur, most of them are just not interested.

Either way, Becky has learnt to simply not care. What does it matter what they think?

The Captain is her father and Sara is her sister, as far as any of the three are concerned.

No one else matters.


	6. Now

She doesn't know exactly what she's supposed to say when she finds out her father's dead, even if Miss Minchin is expecting her to say that she's grateful for Miss Minchin's charity in keeping her.

Because she's not grateful, she's not anything other than shocked and alone and in pain. She's not thought of herself, her own future and wellbeing yet.

She's not like Miss Minchin.

Her Papa is dead and gone and he's not coming back to her and right now she can't spare a thought for what will happen to her.

Right now she just wants to be left alone to cry.


	7. Emily

Even after the girls that had gone to school with Sara had left , Emily stayed at the school becoming something of a mascot. The story of the girl that had gifted her to the school had become a legend, reminding all of the students, whether they'd known Sara or not, that they could be torn down at any minute.

It taught them to live like princesses.

Over the years Emily started to become more and more fragile, but students always conspired together to buy her new dresses, to match the grandeur of the old ones.

She would remain in the school for as long as it existed.


	8. Remember

In another world her father does not come to rescue her.

And that is the worst part. It isn't being arrested, being taken away from everything she knows, even her newly discovered Papa, or being punished that is the worst.

The worst part is the complete lack of recognition in his eyes when he looked at her. She'd looked up at the man she'd believed dead and been so happy that he was still alive, and yet he'd not been able to recognise her.

Instead he'd let her be taken away.

And he'll never see her again, never know who she was.


	9. Alone

For the first time in her life Sara is cold and hungry and dirty, because before she'd always been wearing mink coats and eating whenever she wanted and had never been the kind to play in the mud with other children.

She is nothing, to everyone - the servant girl kept here out of charity, not even pity.

But she is not alone. Because she still has Emily and Becky and the rest of the girls in the school who come up to visit her in the attic sometimes, when they can be sure that Miss Minchin won't catch them.

She is not miserable.


	10. Mama

Lottie wants her mama but she's gone and she's learnt by now that no matter how much she screams she's not coming back for her.

She's gone to Heaven and Lottie's never going to see her again.

Before, that would just make her scream louder and longer but now she has Sara, who she thinks might be nicer than her mama and is always there to tuck her into bed and play with her and kiss her sore knees better when she falls. She never got to see her old mama much anyway.

She's glad to have Sara as her new mama.


End file.
